Fisichella: « the dream of my life becomes reality!

Giancarlo Fisichella stated that he couldn’t believe how much his life had transformed over the last week after being officially confirmed as a Ferrari driver for the end of the 2009 season.

The Italian will race alongside Kimi Räikkönen for the last five races of the year before becoming the reserve driver for Scuderia in 2010.

After discussions today, Thursday, in Maranello with Stefano Domenicali and other team members about the organization of the Italian Grand Prix, Fisichella is currently overjoyed with the turn of events and his future in red, almost 14 years after he tested the Ferrari 412T2 on September 27, 1995, in Fiorano.

“I am on cloud nine,” declares the former Force India driver on the official Ferrari website. “I still can’t believe that the dream of my life is becoming a reality, and I want to thank Ferrari and its director Luca di Montezemolo.”

Last week, truly incredible things happened to me: pole position, then second place at Spa, and now I’ve been called by Ferrari to compete in the last five races of the season for them.

I would give my best to reward the Scuderia for this wonderful opportunity they are giving me. I know it won’t be easy, but I will give everything to achieve the best possible result.

The appointment of Fisichella comes at the expense of Luca Badoer, who failed to shine in the two races he competed for the team. Giancarlo had a thought for his compatriot: “I want to make it clear that I’m sorry for Luca. I know how important it was for him to race at Monza driving a Ferrari, because it’s the best thing that can happen to an Italian driver, to drive a red car in front of our fans.”

Domenicali, the sporting director of Scuderia, wanted to clarify his choice: We chose Giancarlo because we believe he can make a significant contribution in terms of points during the end of this uncertain season.

“I would like to thank Vijay Mallya and Force India F1 for giving Giancarlo the opportunity to end his contract at such a joyful moment for the team,” stated Domenicali.

We must now focus on Monza, an event that is particularly important to us. We know it will be difficult to maintain our performance level seen in previous Grand Prix, but we will give our best for our fans, and I hope many will be at the circuit to cheer us on.